


Your sexy cocktail-hour stubble / Is doing what it should

by Skyson



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Beards, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, Multi, Skoulace, scruff - Freeform, world beard day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 03:49:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11981511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyson/pseuds/Skyson
Summary: Daisy has a problem, and the only cure is more... scruff?





	Your sexy cocktail-hour stubble / Is doing what it should

**Author's Note:**

> A celebration of facial hair, purely scientific reasons.

The guys both want to celebrate world beard day, because why not; it was a thing that they did - celebrate kind of oddball and random “holidays” together. Knowing the day was coming up they had about a week and a half of mornings spent free from shaving.

Daisy didn't know about any of this until she returned to base after traveling for the last two weeks.

“Damn, Phil, it was only two weeks. What's with the beard of sorrow?” Daisy teased when she saw him, laughing through her desire to keep on staring at him.

It wasn't truly a thick beard, but he definitely had some heavy stubble going on, and it gave him a startling sense of ruggedness that made her feel a little breathless.

“I don't know what that means, but, it's just a little scruff,” Coulson chuckled quietly as he gave her a warm hug.

His cheek brushing against hers left a jolting sensation that made her shiver, and she flushed a little since he was bound to notice.

Obviously, she’d dated and subsequently hugged men with facial hair before in her life, but _Coulson_  with facial hair was something else.

He was smiling a bit secretively when he pulled away, his hand lingering against her back for a brief moment.

“How was the trip?” He asked, walking with her as they made their way further into the heart of the base.

“It was good, he’s doing well.” Daisy made sure he was looking at her when she said, “Thank you for letting me see him.”

“Hey, I’m just the tactics guy.” Coulson shrugged, though he smiled fondly as he stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets. “You’ll have to thank the Director for giving you the leave.”

“Yeah, I don’t believe for one minute that you _didn't_  have a hand in persuading him on that,” Daisy rolled her eyes, leaning her shoulder against Coulson’s briefly as they stepped together.

Coulson’s shy smirk was something else, but they fell into a comfortable silence, at least until Daisy opened up the door to her quarters.

“So how is ‘Dad’? How’s the business?” Coulson wondered, leaning against the doorframe without pulling his hands from his pockets.

Daisy smirked at him calling Cal ‘Dad’ - in many ways, their tense past relationship had indeed reminded her of the disapproving father and the anxious boyfriend.

“You don't mind talking about it, do you?” Coulson checked carefully. “I'm simply curious; you don’t have to,”

“Stop freaking out, Phil,” Daisy laughed lightly as she set her duffel bag atop her bed. “Come on in, of course if you really want to hear about my two weeks spent living above a veterinary, I’m more than happy to tell you.”

Coulson smiled widely as he pushed himself off of the frame and stepped into her room, settling into her desk chair as she began to unpack.  
  


**———**

 

“Daisy Johnson,” Mace’s warm tone floated into the room just as he stepped in front of her open door, smiling widely. “Good to have you back.” He noticed Coulson still sitting in her chair, and he straightened slightly. “Oh, hey Phil.”

Daisy stared at the Director, not quite gaping, but probably close to it.

“That’s - ! That’s not _fair_!” She wailed, and Mace furrowed his brow at her and took a step into the room.

“What’s…?” He glanced toward Coulson. “Should I come back?”

“Are you two in some kind of bet? Or conspiring against me?” Daisy demanded, and the men glanced at one another before looking at her in complete cluelessness. “Okay, get out. Shoo,” She stood from where she’d been sitting on the edge of her mattress, and put her hands on her hips.

“I just got here,” Mace protested, and Daisy shook her head as she gestured her hand vaguely toward the doorway.

“I can’t deal with the both of you in here right now,” Daisy started, and Coulson laughed as he got to his feet as well.

“I get it,” He grinned at Daisy. “I’ve had my catch-up time, I’ll let you two have the room,” He paused when he was standing beside Mace, though, and faced him.

“I’m still lost.” Mace commented, turning his head to look at Coulson, just as Coulson brushed his knuckles along the other man’s jaw.

“It _is_  a bit overwhelming, at first, isn’t it,” Coulson mused quietly, rubbing his thumb against Mace’s bristly facial hair.

Mace suddenly figured out what this was about, and smiled slowly at Coulson, letting the man continue to touch him for a moment. Then Coulson lowered his hand and left the room, not saying anything else.

Daisy blinked, raising her eyebrows at Mace when he faced her again.

“That was… intimate.” She commented, and Mace pursed his lips as he fought away his smile. “So I leave and you finally get the gumption to tell him how you feel?”

“Sorry I didn’t tell you, I didn’t want to bother you while you were out,” Mace apologized as he stepped more completely into the room.

She stepped back, her calves bumping into the side of her bed, and Mace’s brow twitched curiously at her action.

“No worries, I’ve always been rooting for you guys, you know that.” She said in a rush. “Maybe, uh, maybe we can chat later? I want to hear all about it, but, kind of a long trip, and I’m tired,”

It was painfully obvious she was using that as an excuse, but Mace nodded easily.

“Of course.” He hesitated, though, and took another step toward her to reach for her hand. He grasped it tightly, telling her sincerely, “I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me, too.” She relaxed a little, squeezing his hand in return, and managed to offer him an honest smile.

Somehow, that salt-and-pepper scruff seemed to make his eyes an even lighter shade of blue.

Haltingly, he slowly brought her hand up, and leaned over slightly to bring the back of her knuckles against his mouth. He kept his eyes on her as he lightly kissed her skin, the stubble on his upper lip and chin sending tingles of electricity up her arm.

“Get some rest.” He murmured, releasing her hand and spinning on his heel, walking out of her room.

“What the fuck just happened?” Daisy asked nobody.  
  


**———**   
  


 

“I think I need to find a man.” Daisy sighed, not really being serious, as she leaned on her elbow and watched Mace have a conversation with Fitz outside in the hall.

Jemma paused working on her current project and glanced up toward Daisy, before following her gaze out of the lab.

“Director - Director Mace?!” Jemma hissed in surprise, and Daisy immediately straightened.

“No, no, he’s taken - just, I mean, that’s my point!” Daisy gestured when Jemma made another face. “It’s the damn beard. I’ve always been a sucker for good facial hair.” She muttered.

“Well, Agent _Coulson's_  recently taken to growing a beard, as well, you could try him,” Jemma replied a bit sarcastically, teasing Daisy, but Daisy only groaned.

“Ugh, him, too.”

“…Him, too, what?” Jemma removed her hands from the microscope entirely, and focused on her friend.

“Come on, be objective here - you don’t think it’s hot?” Daisy pointed in Mace’s direction “Especially with the suit,” She furrowed her brow thoughtfully as she tilted her head slightly, examining him more fully. “It’s something ruggedly distinguished.”

“You’re ogling the Director.” Jemma pointed out as if Daisy hadn’t realized it. Daisy didn’t say anything, and Jemma sighed. “I don’t know, I tend to find facial hair just… itchy.”

“But in _all the best ways_ ,” Daisy murmured, and there was no way Mace or Fitz could hear them from where they were, but Mace glanced up and scanned the room briefly before his eyes landed on Daisy.

“Daisy,” Jemma scolded lightly, wrinkling her nose in disagreement, furtively glancing about to make sure none of the lab techs were listening in.

Daisy didn’t notice, because Mace smiled slowly at her, and she was too busy smiling back.

“Are you _sure_  he’s taken?” Jemma wondered, as she watched them.

Fitz said something that drew Mace’s attention back, and Daisy cleared her throat and turned more directly toward Jemma so she wouldn’t get distracted looking at him again.

“Pretty sure?” Daisy guessed.

She was beginning to wonder, though. Especially when two hours later, she found herself sitting across from Coulson in a meeting, trying not to get caught staring at him.

The problem was, he was staring at her, too - and blatantly so. Even when she wasn’t the one speaking, he was looking at her. _She_  thought it was obvious, but no one else was saying anything.

By the time the meeting ended, she darted away from the conference table and out of the Director’s office, intent on changing in her quarters and then going for a long run on the treadmill.

All the years of looking at Coulson and having Coulson look at her, and she’d never had it effect her quite like this. She really needed to chill out, and if the run didn’t work, well, she _did_  have vibrational superpowers…

“Johnson!” Mace’s voice halted her before she could make it to the stairs, and she inwardly groaned.

“What’s going on with you?” May wondered as she passed Daisy in the hall, watching how Daisy tilted her head back and mouthed a few silent obscenities toward the ceiling.

“Nothing, I - have to pee.” Daisy replied, and May raised her eyebrow dubiously. Daisy didn’t stand around and wait for May to figure out that her frustration had nothing to do with her bladder; she squared her shoulders and turned back toward the office.

Of course Coulson was still inside the room, leaning his hip against the conference table now, his arms loosely folded across his chest. Daisy studiously avoided looking at him as she walked across the room approaching Mace’s desk.

Mace was standing in front of it, leaning against it almost in the same manner as Coulson, except he was resting his palms on the edge of the top.

“You okay?” Mace wondered, his honest concern apparent on his face. “I was hoping the vacation would give you some decent down time,”

“The vacation was great,” Daisy assured him, “I’m fine - ”

Fuck, did Coulson just shut the door?

Daisy squinted slightly at Mace, and glanced over her shoulder. Coulson flipped the lock on the door, very casually, before strolling back toward them. Daisy narrowed her eyes further and faced Mace again.

“You _are_  in some kind of bet, aren’t you?” She accused, rankled. And still very much turned on.

“No,” Coulson promised, nearing them. Standing closer than necessary. Daisy tensed mildly, but Mace didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

“Why? Are you upset with us?” Mace asked.

“Of course not - ”

“It _is_  something to do with us, though, isn’t it.” Coulson mused, his tone very knowing. He was leaning closer to her, now, and he lifted a hand to brush her hair away from her neck, over the back of her shoulder.

She didn’t push him away, though she looked accusingly at Mace.

“Is this some weird good-cop, bad-cop kink of yours?” She demanded, and flinched when she felt Coulson’s nose touch the skin of her neck.

She still didn’t push him away, though.

“I don’t know what you mean,” And damn it, Mace sounded like he really wasn’t following.

But then Coulson pressed his lips against Daisy’s neck, and her first thought was that his scruff somehow seemed softer than Mace’s, though it was about the same amount. She quietly gasped, but stretched her chin up a little, clearly giving Coulson permission to continue.

Mace was just leaning against his desk continuing to watch them, as if this was all normal.

“ _Phil_ ,” Daisy hissed, half-warning, when Coulson began putting more pressure and teeth against her skin. She couldn’t pull her eyes from Mace’s, though, flummoxed by the entire situation.

Not enough to _stop_  it, though.

Coulson’s hand was warm against the small of her back, and he stepped closer as he pushed her toward Mace, his chest pressing against the side of her arm.

“You _are_  the bad cop,” Daisy grumbled, though she couldn’t deny enjoying the way he mouthed his way up beneath her ear. His scruff was equal parts painful and soothing against the softer parts of her skin, but his lips easily distracted from that.

“No,” Mace informed her, straightening off his desk now, his expression suddenly incredibly serious. “He’s not.”

Daisy was pretty sure her brain might have short-circuited for a moment, but then Mace was slipping his firm grasp about her waist and tilting his head to kiss her on the mouth.

His stubble was rougher than Coulson’s, but it only made tingling warmth shoot down her spine and to her toes. She moaned into his mouth, briefly wondering if she’d fallen asleep during the meeting. This seemed an awful lot like one of the dirtier dreams she’s had in the past.

Mace’s kiss wasn’t shy, or timid - he wasn’t super rough about it, but he definitely took control in the exploration of her mouth. Daisy wasn’t sure what Coulson was doing with his other hand, but Mace soon hummed and smiled against Daisy’s lips.

Sparked with a bit of clarity, Daisy put her palms against Mace’s chest and pushed him back; not angrily, but firmly enough to get his attention. Coulson backed off too, only slightly; he kept his hand on her back, and she could see now that he’d probably grabbed Mace’s ass while they were kissing.

She had no idea what to say, really - she wasn’t even sure what she was thinking, as she tried to catch her breath, blinking at Mace. Mace’s eyes were dark and he licked his lips as he watched her, but he didn’t budge again. Daisy turned toward Coulson, who was watching her relatively calmly, all things considered.

“What - ” She managed, “What?”

Coulson’s smirk was slow, playful, and incredibly dirty.

"Don't make that face at me!" Daisy threatened, pointing at him. His expression then morphed into an appalled look.

"What face?" He protested.

"You know what face!" She accused, and turned to Mace for backup. "You know which face," She gestured, and Mace shrugged and shook his head.

"All his faces do things to me." Mace admitted, and Coulson gave him a surprised look.

"Do WHAT to you?" He asked, and Mace replied lowly and very seriously,

"Unspeakable things."

Coulson stared at both of them like they may have grown a few extra heads, but then he made that lopsided grin again.

"Mmm, that's one of them," Mace pointed and nodded, and Daisy groaned and covered her eyes for a second.

“Helllll, the beard just makes it worse!” She complained.

“ _That's_  what it is,” Mace figured, and Daisy huffed and put her hands on her hips.

“You _know_  that’s,”

“I think we already gave the game away, Jeffrey,” Coulson pointed out softly, and just like that the lighthearted air that had gathered between them was quickly sucked out of the room.

“So if this isn’t a bet, then what is it? A ‘game’?” Daisy repeated, keeping her hands on her hips.

“Not a game,” Coulson assured her intently, and a glance toward Mace told her that he agreed with Coulson wholeheartedly. “Jeff and I like to celebrate weird ‘holidays’ together… we’ve been doing it for a while, actually. Today’s world beard day,”

“ _What_?” Daisy laughed.

“And we’ve suspected for a while but you’re reaction to both of us with the scruff pretty much confirmed it.” Coulson’s smile was hesitant, now. “The flirting was mostly supposed to be lighthearted, you know? The kind of friendly teasing stuff.”

“Friends don’t make out with each other!” Daisy protested pointedly, gesturing in Mace’s direction.

“Oh, that wasn’t making out. I could show you how I,”

“Jeffrey,” Coulson interrupted, warning, and Mace stopped speaking. Coulson focused back on Daisy, and rubbed his thumb affectionately against the back of her shirt, where he still hadn’t pulled away. “Got a little carried away today.” Coulson shrugged apologetically. “There were multiple opportunities to push us away, tell us to stop. You didn’t.”

“That’s because -!” Daisy argued before stopping herself. Dreams coming true didn’t sound like a good argument on her part.

“You see,” Mace sighed, glancing at Coulson as if asking for permission to keep talking. (That kind of made Daisy tingle a little, too, but that could just be because she was still reeling from everything that had just happened.) “We, the both of us,” Mace gestured between himself and Coulson, “We care about you. A lot. And we talked about it, and we figured, hell, why not test the waters? If it freaked you out, we wouldn’t pursue it.”

“You wouldn’t _persue_  - you _care_  about me?” Daisy squinted at them both. (Inside, her heart felt like something was squeezing it with a vise.)

“Well,” Mace frowned almost indignantly. “I didn’t want to go around throwing ‘the L word’ and freak you out,”

“You _love_  me?!” Daisy exclaimed, and Coulson grimaced, glancing toward the closed door. Daisy gaped at him. “I thought you loved Coulson!”

“I do.” Mace replied.

Daisy had no idea what to say. After a beat, she looked at Coulson again.

“I’ve loved you for a long time, Daisy.” Coulson murmured softly, and damn, of course he has, but she hadn’t thought it was _romantic_  in nature.

“Are you - ” She narrowed her eyes at them again. “Are you shitting me?”

“No,” Mace replied firmly. “I wouldn’t joke about this.”

“Christ, am I dreaming?” Daisy asked herself, aloud.

“You’ve dreamed about this?” Coulson’s eyebrow arched high on his forehead, and he asked hopefully, “So you’re open to the idea?”

“I - _how_?” Daisy wondered somewhat rhetorically, throwing her hands into the air before dropping them to her sides.

“Well,” Mace smiled excitedly, “we could practice that part,” He carefully closed the distance between them again, and while Daisy let him, she put her hands on his arms to keep him from leaning in further or kissing her again.

“Not in here we can’t!” She protested immediately, quickly beginning to feel overwhelmed again. Two more seconds of either of them kissing her and she’d probably be open for ‘practicing’ in the middle of the common room.

Coulson was the one who’s smile became vaguely feral, and he trailed his fingers along her spine as he stepped away to walk toward the door.

“I hope you have some good moisturizer, because beard burn can be a bitch,” He drawled, giving them both a look as he unlocked and opened the door.

“Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus.” Daisy breathed, finding herself stepping after him without really knowing where he was leading them.

Mace stepped with her, his hand on her back now to urge her along.

If the three of them disappearing into Mace’s quarters was odd, the agent guarding the hallway betrayed nothing.  
  


**———**

 

“Soooo much beard burn.” Daisy groaned, stretching out on the bed.

“But so worth it,” Mace smiled lovingly, rubbing lotion between his hands for a moment before beginning to work it into her thigh.

He was sitting cross-legged by her left hip, passing a bottle of moisturizer over her to Coulson, both of them taking their time massaging the lotion into her skin.

Naked. Both of them were naked, and so was she, and surprisingly it was very comfortable.

The massaging motions of their palms and fingers against her skin definitely helped, of course.

Coulson touched a particularly tender spot behind her right knee and she curled away from him for a moment, snickering. He smiled and caught her leg, purposefully running his finger against the spot again and smirking when she bit her lip.

It wasn’t long before their caring touches became lazy stroking, re-exploring her body, and eventually leading to her grasping the sheets and arching her back and panting for air.

She wasn’t sure how long they spent holed away in Mace’s quarters, but it had definitely been a few hours. When she finally ventured downstairs for food, leaving the men to shower (and probably have sex again, which was why she wasn’t going to wait for them to get out of the shower. She was hungry) Elena was in the kitchen as well.

Daisy hesitated briefly, and offered her friend a quick smile. She knew that she was presentable - she’d triple-checked before leaving Mace’s quarters - but she was still nervous that maybe somehow Elena could _tell_  what had transpired between the three of them.

Plus, much as she wanted to hide it, Daisy knew she wasn’t quite walking totally casually.

“Work out too hard this morning?” Elena wondered sympathetically, thinking it was sore muscles giving Daisy some annoyance.

Well, it wasn't _only_  sore muscles.

“Yeah. Something like that.” Daisy muttered, biting her lip to keep from smirking, not quite looking directly in her friend's eye. She grimaced, though, as she eased onto the stool at the island counter. “What are you making?” She wondered curiously.

“Empanadas; Mack loves them. Want some?” Elena replied, though she was still watching Daisy rather closely.

“Uhh, nah, don’t worry about me.” Daisy smiled. “As hungry as I am, I don’t want to take anything away from Mack,” She joked, and Elena laughed.

“Why so hungry?” She asked innocently.

“Oh, the gym, no doubt,” Daisy vaguely gestured her hand in the air. “Too much working out, not enough eating earlier today.”

“ - _starved_ , oh man, could you make that casserole thing with the peppers?” Mace’s voice floated jubilantly down the steps, just before he appeared, a clear bounce in his step as he focused on Coulson, who was following - albeit in a calmer manner - behind him.

“As hungry as you are, I have a feeling you won’t have the patience to wait for me to prepare it,” Coulson teased warmly.

Daisy quietly cleared her throat, and both men immediately looked into the kitchen, only just realizing they had an audience.

“Hello, Elena,” Mace greeted brightly, only faltering slightly as he moved further into the room. Coulson was silent now as he followed after, very aware of Elena’s probing gaze.

Daisy could tell that both men had apparently taken a very quick shower; both of their hair was still glistening with water. And if that wasn’t damning enough, a very definite hickey was showing itself on Mace’s neck, the collar of his tee shirt not high enough to completely hide it.

“What about Chinese food? Maybe we could just order Chinese?” Mace asked Coulson, clearly not caring that Elena was giving his excited attitude an odd look. “Daisy, how do you feel about Chinese food?”

Elena turned her head toward Daisy, clearly wondering a few more things than Daisy’s preferred take-out. Daisy blinked at her.

“Nothing like a belly full of egg rolls and lo mien.” Daisy replied, not looking away from Elena.

Elena smirked, pursing her lips as she focused back on her own task.

“Excellent,” Mace grinned, and Coulson chuckled quietly.

“I’ll call it in,” He sighed with loving exasperation, giving Daisy an amused glance before taking Mace’s cell phone from him.

Mace slid into the stool next to Daisy while Coulson spoke on the phone, and while he was very much in Daisy’s space - thigh and arm pressed against her own - he focused on what Elena was doing.

Daisy liked how touchy Mace turned out to be - she liked it a lot - but it was quite obvious that Elena suspected at least _something_  had happened between the three of them, and Daisy wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Elena wasn’t obtuse - she could clearly read the anxiousness on Daisy’s face, so after a few minutes, she gave her friend a small smile.

“I won’t judge.” She said simply, and glanced at both Coulson, who was still ordering food (Geez, was he buying the entire menu?) and Mace, who looped his arm casually along the back of Daisy’s chair, leaning his other elbow against the countertop. Elena winked at Daisy then, as if she approved.

Daisy didn’t know what to do about that, either.

Coulson finished ordering, and slipped onto the seat on the other side of Daisy, informing them their food would be delivered in forty-five minutes. He then proceeded to chat with Elena about different foods she liked, and knew how to prepare, and if he should order any particular ingredients the next time he was resupplying the base.

About a half an hour later Elena was finished preparing her dinner, and plated it up to take back to Mack’s room. She sent the three of them another smirk before she strolled out of the room.

“Have fun with your Chinese food… and whatever.”

Coulson looked chagrined for a moment, but Elena only laughed lightly and disappeared around the corner.

“Did you tell her?” Coulson wondered of Daisy, not accusatory, but worried.

“No,” Daisy rolled her eyes, and jutted her thumb in Mace’s direction, “This one had ‘I just had sex!’ plastered alllll over him.”

“Hey,” Mace protested, and Daisy leaned her shoulder against him companionably.

“Besides that,” She admitted more quietly, in case someone was about to walk into the room, “I may have had a bit of trouble sitting down at first.”

Coulson’s mouth immediately did that thing where he was trying not to smile, and he ended up looking like Grumpy Cat.

“Beard burn is simultaneously the worst thing and the best thing, isn’t it,” Mace mused happily, and Daisy snorted, and propped her arm on his shoulder as she touched her fingers against his neck.

“You _would_  know,” She teased, and grinned over at Coulson.

He looked quite proud of himself.

* * *

 


End file.
